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I'm never going to costa rica


Chad is Dead

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yup, bot flies.

 

a very common, and very real problem for most missionaries in tropical areas. the flies themselves dont lay eggs in anything living, the problem is that mosquitos, fleas, chiggers, and other parasitic insects will carry them and then transfer them to a new host as they feed. in reality, the only danger they pose is that its very easy in those warm, wet, tropical climates for the holes they use for air to become infected once the larvae leaves the host. and thats never good.

 

interesting fact, because of their size and their appetite, bot fly maggots are oft sought after in throd world contries for the purpose of fighting infection in open wounds. maggots only eat rotting meat and decay, and so they are ideally suited for the cleansing of infection usually due to improper treatment of war wounds.

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interesting fact, because of their size and their appetite, bot fly maggots are oft sought after in throd world contries for the purpose of fighting infection in open wounds. maggots only eat rotting meat and decay, and so they are ideally suited for the cleansing of infection usually due to improper treatment of war wounds.

 

True story. And, to add to it, maggot therapy (i.e., putting live maggots on a target area to allow the larvae to each the rotten flesh) is utilized in the United States for burn victims and individuals with diabetes (that are prone to infection/poor circulation/gangerous conditions). Like DJ implied, maggots won't eat healthy flesh, so they are useful for cleaning out infections and other nasty stuff that, if left there, could warrant amputation or even result in death.

 

(Extra sidebar: some time ago I heard of a case of a homeless guy that came into an ER and his entire face was infected with maggots. So, the ER doc painstakingly removed every maggot from the guy's face, patched him up, and sent him on his way. Homeless guy died about 12 hours later. Why? Because the infection in his face - what the maggots were eating on - spread to his bloodstream/other organs and killed him; when the ER doc took out the maggots, the guy's only defense against the infection was also taken away. So, essentially, the maggots were the only thing keeping the homeless guy alive.)

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